Concordance of multigene genealogy along with morphological evidence unveils five novel species and two new records of boletoid mushrooms (fungi) from India.

Agaricales, Russulales and Boletales are dominant orders among the wild mushrooms in Basidiomycota. Boletaceae, one of the major functional elements in terrestrial ecosystem and mostly represented by ectomycorrhizal symbionts of trees in Indian Himalaya and adjoining hills, are extraordinarily diverse and represented by numerous genera and species which are unexplored or poorly known. Therefore, their hidden diversity is yet to be revealed. Extensive macrofungal exploration by the authors to different parts of Himalaya and surroundings, followed by through morphological studies and multigene molecular phylogeny lead to the discovery of five new species of wild mushrooms: Leccinellum bothii sp. nov., Phylloporus himalayanus sp. nov., Phylloporus smithii sp. nov., Porphyrellus uttarakhandae sp. nov., and Retiboletus pseudoater sp. nov. Present communication deals with morphological details coupled with illustrations and phylogenetic inferences. Besides, Leccinellum sinoaurantiacum and Xerocomus rugosellus are also reported for the first time from this country.

DNA damage signals from somatic uterine tissue arrest oogenesis through activated DAF-16.

Germ line integrity is crucial for progeny fitness. Organisms deploy the DNA damage response (DDR) signaling to protect the germ line from genotoxic stress, facilitating the cell-cycle arrest of germ cells and DNA repair or their apoptosis. Cell-autonomous regulation of germ line quality in response to DNA damage is well studied; however, how quality is enforced cell non-autonomously on sensing somatic DNA damage is less known. Using Caenorhabditis elegans, we show that DDR disruption, only in the uterus, when insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) is low, arrests oogenesis in the pachytene stage of meiosis I, in a FOXO/DAF-16 transcription factor-dependent manner. Without FOXO/DAF-16, germ cells of the IIS mutant escape the arrest to produce poor-quality oocytes, showing that the transcription factor imposes strict quality control during low IIS. Activated FOXO/DAF-16 senses DDR perturbations during low IIS to lower ERK/MPK-1 signaling below a threshold to promote germ line arrest. Altogether, we elucidate a new surveillance role for activated FOXO/DAF-16 that ensures optimal germ cell quality and progeny fitness in response to somatic DNA damage.

Four Novel Species and Two New Records of Boletes from India.

Repeated macrofungal explorations, followed by thorough examination of species through morphology and molecular phylogeny, have made it clear that European and American names of wild mushrooms were inadvertently misapplied quite often to Asian lookalikes by mycologists/taxonomists in the past. Therefore, in order to reveal this mushroom treasure, in recent years, taxonomical research on wild mushrooms has been intensified in Asian countries, including India, by undertaking a combined approach of morpho-taxonomy and multigene molecular phylogeny. Boletoid mushrooms (Boletaceae) are no exception. While working on boletoid mushrooms of the Indian Himalayas, authors recently came across six interesting species of boletoid mushrooms. In the present communication, four novel species, namely Leccinellum binderi, Cyanoboletus paurianus, Xerocomus uttarakhandae, and Xerocomellus himalayanus, are established based on morphology and molecular phylogenetic estimations. Moreover, Cyanoboletus macroporus and Xerocomus fraternus are also reported here for the first time in India.

Single-Cell Immunogenomic Approach Identified SARS-CoV-2 Protective Immune Signatures in Asymptomatic Direct Contacts of COVID-19 Cases.

The response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is largely impacted by the level of virus exposure and status of the host immunity. The nature of protection shown by direct asymptomatic contacts of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-positive patients is quite intriguing. In this study, we have characterized the antibody titer, SARS-CoV-2 surrogate virus neutralization, cytokine levels, single-cell T-cell receptor (TCR), and B-cell receptor (BCR) profiling in asymptomatic direct contacts, infected cases, and controls. We observed significant increase in antibodies with neutralizing amplitude in asymptomatic contacts along with cytokines such as Eotaxin, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), interleukin 7 (IL-7), migration inhibitory factor (MIF), and macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α). Upon single-cell RNA (scRNA) sequencing, we explored the dynamics of the adaptive immune response in few representative asymptomatic close contacts and COVID-19-infected patients. We reported direct asymptomatic contacts to have decreased CD4+ naive T cells with concomitant increase in CD4+ memory and CD8+ Temra cells along with expanded clonotypes compared to infected patients. Noticeable proportions of class switched memory B cells were also observed in them. Overall, these findings gave an insight into the nature of protection in asymptomatic contacts.

Nutritional composition, mineral content, antioxidant activity and quantitative estimation of water soluble vitamins and phenolics by RP-HPLC in some lesser used wild edible plants.

The present study aimed to investigate the nutritional properties and antioxidant activities of six underutilized wild edible plants viz. Ipomoea aquatica, Achyranthes aspera, Aasystasia ganjetica, Enhydra fluctuans, Oldenlandia corymbosa and Amaranthus viridis that are commonly consumed as food in the India The antioxidant properties of the plants were evaluated by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, ABTS radical scavenging ability, reducing power capacity, metal chelating activity, lipid peroxidation assay, estimation of total phenolic content and flavonoids content in different solvent extraction system like benzene, chloroform, methanol and 70% aqueous (aq.) ethanol. The quantitation of phenolic acids and flavonoids and water soluble vitamins in these plants were carried out by HPLC using Acclaim C 18 column (5 µm particle size, 250 × 4.6 mm), Dionex Ultimate 3000 liquid chromatograph and detection was carried out in photo diode array (PDA) detector. The results of investigation showed that these plants are rich sources of protein, carbohydrate minerals and vitamins, especially the B group of vitamins that can contribute immensely to nutrition, food security, and health and therapeutic benefits. The different levels of antioxidant activities were found in the solvent systems used. The HPLC analysis also showed the presence of phenolic acids and flavonoids in various amounts in these plants which could be utilized as natural antioxidant.

Silver nanoparticles decorated eggshell membrane as an effective platform for interference free sensing of dopamine.

In this paper a simple electrochemical sensing of dopamine by a new effective immobilization of tyrosinase (Tyr) enzyme on eggshell membrane (ESM) along with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is reported. The modified membrane was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDAX), X-Ray diffraction (XRD). A simple solution based approach was used to prepare AgNPs on biomembrane followed by glutaraldehyde activation to immobilize Tyr on the nanoparticles decorated ESM. The direct electrochemistry of DA oxidation was performed through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Characterization of membrane was accomplished by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Prepared electrode showed very good stability, reproducibility, high selectivity, easy preparation and regeneration of electrode. The proposed sensor exhibited low detection limits 1.7ngL-1 with wide linear range 10-1000 ngL-1, excellent sensitivity (14.28µA µgL-1cm-2) with good storage and operational stabilities. The accurate measurement of dopamine in blood serum and good recoveries in spiked serum samples ensured great potential for medical diagnostics.

Hexavalent chromium reduction by immobilized cells of Bacillus sphaericus AND 303

Bacillus sphaericus AND 303, a Cr(VI)-resistant and reducing bacterium reported from serpentine outcrops of Andaman was evaluated for Cr(VI) reduction using immobilized cells under batch culture. Screening of inert matrices for entrapment of whole cells indicated that polyvinyl alchohol-alginate was the most effective one reducing 87.5% of 20 µM Cr(VI) in 24 h. The rate of chromate reduction was dependent on initial Cr(VI) and biomass concentrations. The PVA cell beads were recycled three times without cell leakage and disintegration. The reduction efficiency was improved in the presence of glucose and glycerol as electron donors leading to complete reduction. However, the presence of additional metal ions was inhibitory to Cr(VI) reduction. It could be emphasized that PVA-alginate immobilized cells of B. sphaericus AND 303 could be used as a continuous bioprocess in treating Cr(VI) contaminated effluents.

Arsenic accumulating and transforming bacteria isolated from contaminated soil for potential use in bioremediation.

Arsenic (As) is a metalloid and considered harmful due to its toxic and carcinogenic effects. Removal of arsenic is of great importance for human welfare. The main objective of this study was to isolate arsenic-resistant bacteria that are capable of removing arsenic from the environment. Soil samples were collected from an arsenic-affected area of West Bengal, India and 10 different bacterial strains were isolated. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the isolates varied widely in the range 50-125 mM (As) as arsenate and 10-100 mM (As) as arsenite. TEM and EDAX analysis were done to confirm intracellular accumulation of arsenic. The 16s RNA and phylogenetic analysis showed that seven isolates belonged to γ-proteobacterium, two isolates belonged to Firmicutes and one was identified as Kocuria genera. Some of these bacteria could oxidize arsenite to arsenate and all others could reduce arsenate to arsenite. The growth pattern of the bacterial strains in presence and absence of arsenic was also observed. All the 10 isolates exhibited multiple heavy metal (like Ni, Zn, Cu, Pb, Co, etc.) tolerances. Thus, these new bacterial strains could conveniently be used for bioremediation of soil and effluents and the enzymes produced by them may be used for commercial exploitation.